A/N: first, I forgot the disclaimer, so: this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling as well as various publishing houses including, but not limited to, Warner Bros., Bloomsbury Books, and Scholastic Books. No money is being made, nor are any trademark infringements intended. All original characters are mine, so don't take them!
Second, I'm sorry if this is a bit messed up, because I just switched to Word from WordPerfect, and the formatting is different, so I needed to edit the whole thing. Here goes the next chapter.
Two: Or Maybe Not?
The days passed slowly, and nothing really happened until September 1st. Lily went to King's Cross and was about to get onto platform 9 3/4 when she heard her name.
"Lily?" She turned.
"Hey, Remus!" Lily said. "Lily," Remus said dreamily.
"Are you okay?" Lily asked skeptically.
"Yeah, um, gotta go" Remus said hurriedly.
"Uh, bye," Lily said as she walked into the barrier.
"Hey Lil," James called, "Over here."
"Coming," Lily called back. They found an empty compartment in the prefects area.
"So..." Lily said, "what's up with Remus?"
"Umm, what? I didn't notice anything," Sirius said.
"I did," James said, "At our sleepover, he talked a lot about you, Lil. I think he likes you."
"Yeah, I think he does, too," Sirius agreed.
"Well, why don't you guys go out? We'll be okay with it," James said.
"Thanks guys, I'll try it," Lily replied, "Where is he?"
"Dunno," James said. Just then, the doors opened revealing Remus.
"Hey, guys," He said.
"Remus, Lil has something to say to you," James winked at Lily.
"Not NOW!" Lily could feel color rising in her face.
"Remus, can I meet you in the Library tomorrow?" Lily asked.
"S-sure," he replied, stuttering.
"There are a few start of term announcements," the headmaster's familiar voice filled the Great Hall, "The Dark Forest is Forbidden to all students, and the Prefects will be having a new dormitory, the Head Boy this term is James Potter, and the Head Girl is Lily Evans, so if you have any questions please ask them. That is all."
"The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily," Professor McGonnagal announced. The Transfiguration teacher was much younger, having graduated only fourteen years earlier. The first years all looked quite nervous as they lined up alphabetically. "Penelope Burns," came up to the stool and was sorted into Ravenclaw. "Roger Clayton," came up next to be sorted into Hufflepuff. A fair skinned blond girl then came up, and she was extraordinarily beautiful. "She must be part Veela," Sirius whispered. "Antoinette Delacour" was also sorted into Ravenclaw. The cheering among the male population of Ravenclaw was amazing. "Eliza Florentine" was the first Gryffindor. "Samuel Henderson," "Joseph Klein," and "Elizabeth Norbert," were sorted before the table quieted. "Bonnie Phillips," was sorted with Hattie Phillips (her twin) into Slytherin. "Caitlin Smith," was sorted into Hufflepuff. "Chris Towton," sorted into Gryffindor. And finally, the last first year was a redheaded boy by the name of "Bill Weasley," who was sorted into Gryffindor.
The feast went on through the night, and, as usual, there were no early morning classes the next day.
The next morning, during their break, Lily snuck up to the Library to meet Remus. She was not at all keen on having her friends hear her asking one of them out. She had noticed the Hogsmede weekends were posted, so she thought it would be a great opportunity to have a butterbeer together while Sirius and James were in Zonkos'. "Lily, what is it?" Remus asked. "Uh, would you like to go get a butterbeer this weekend at Hogsmede, like just the two of us?" She knew what the answer would be.
"Yeah, of course," Remus looked markedly relieved.
"Okay, well then, see ya around!" Lily said as she strode out of the Library.
That night, the boys' Prefect dormitory was fully awake as Remus recalled the morning to the rest of the group. "Well, boys, you're looking at Lily's new boyfriend!" Remus said proudly. "And none too modest," James muttered. They heard the incredulous voice, "that Mudblood?" "Snape, you greasy-haired git, go back to your own dorm!" Remus growled angrily. "I knew we shoulda put a charm on that door!" James whispered. "WHAT DID YOU CALL HER?" Remus roared. "Shhh, you'll wake up the whole castle!" Snape left the room to prevent being the target of Lupin's wrath, amid whispering and scuffles. "Just go to sleep, you guys," previously quiet, John Hendring whispered to regain their quietness. " Wait 'til Peter and Sirius hear about this!" Remus ended the conversation when a snore emitted from James' bed.
The weekend had finally arrived after the first week of grueling classes. "I'm out of dungbombs," James complained, "anyone else want to go to Zonkos'?" "Count me in," Sirius answered. "Me too," Peter Pettigrew replied. "'Kay then, we'll leave our lovebirds by themselves at the Three broomsticks," James raised his voice to Lily and Remus. "Oh, honestly," Lily called from the other side of the Common Room. "Let's go then!" As they clambered out of the portrait hole, Remus offered his hand tentatively, which was taken quickly by Lily. She didn't want him to feel at all bad about this, and Lily did share some of his affection honestly.
They walked towards the town remembering their first visit in their third year. "Remember the first time we went to Honeydukes?" Sirius recalled. "Yeah, I had about thirty of those Levitating Sherbet Balls!" Peter replied. "Those were the days," James said dreamily, "But who says we can't still enjoy it?" "Yeah, I guess we can," Sirius agreed.
"Madame Rosmerta? Could we get two butterbeers over here?" Remus called. They had chosen a corner table away from the crowd. "Right away!" The signature sparkled shoes rushed off to get the butterbeer. "So, Remus, how have you been? My studies have prevented chatting with you guys lately," Lily prompted. Wow, she's so beautiful. And smart, and just..."Huh? Oh, yeah I've been...perfect"
Remus snapped out of his reverie, "Err sorry, I was just, um, distracted..." "Oh, that's all right, I often forget to think about one thing when I'm thinking of something else." Just then, Lily thought she heard a faint giggle. "Oh, ok then," Remus said. "Here are your butterbeers, dears" Madame Rosmerta put two frothy mugs on their table, "Anything else?" "No, thanks."
Remus took a sip from his mug. Although the signs of Autumn had appeared, Remus felt warmth course through his body. "Mmmmmmmmm" Lily had also sipped her butterbeer, and was enjoying its pleasant warmth when she heard a cold voice saying, "So, he was telling the truth. Miss Mudblood is going out with Wolfboy!" "Severus, you have no right to invade in my personal privacy!" Lily said, "And just because Remus was bitten doesn't mean you can tell about it!" "Well now, you're defending him, huh? Just because Dumbledore told me not to tell anyone doesn't mean I don't know..." "Enough! Wingrdium Leviosa!" Severus' jug of butterbeer was suddenly pouring onto his greasy hair. "Ugh," Severus was attempting to wipe his clothes off. Lily could hear a distinct guffaw that sounded muffled slightly by a Cloak... "James?" Lily whispered. At your service, Mademoiselle," James' head appeared out of nowhere floating in thin air, then disappeared. "Do something!" "My pleasure," Severus tripped and fell, then decided it would be better to retreat. James took off the cloak revealing him and Sirius. "How did you both fit? and where's Peter?" "I did a little expanding charm and uh..." James said. "Well, um," Sirius started.
"What?" Lily demanded."WHERE'S PETER?" Lily knew what could have happened, so she wanted to make sure that the Head Boy was acting like a Head Boy. "We...uh, he's in the hospital wing, Lil," James said. "Uh, yeah, we... never mind," Sirius concurred. "Oh, but I do mind! It's my job as Head Girl to make sure that these things don't happen," Lily retorted, "Now tell me what happened or you will be facing 50 points off Gryffindor, even though it is my own house." "She can't do that, it's against the rules," James muttered to Sirius, "Okay, we'll tell you," He said out loud. "All that happened was that we put some Filibuster's wet-start fireworks along the Secret hallway, meaning to give the people in Honeydukes a bit of a scare, but it turns out, Peter was practicing his transformation there and we singed a bit off his legs... nothing too bad!" James explained. "Well, Madame Pomfrey will fix him up, but you two better be more careful," Lily amended, "Especially you, Potter."
Remus had been sitting quietly through this whole episode, as was usual for the timid boy.
"Let's go guys," he said, successfully avoiding an argument. "Lil, there was an accident in the dorms so they moved the Head Boy and Girl to the guest staff dormitory," James advised, "you can move your stuff when you get back." "Accident?" Sirius said incredulously, "I'll bet Snape had something to do with this!" "Thanks for the warning, James," Lily said. "You know Snape's friend, Malfoy?" Remus said. "The one from Durmstrang?" Sirius asked "Yeah, he used to go there, but now he's coming to Hogwarts," Remus informed them. "He's a real Slytherin, that one." "Anyway, he's bunking with the prefects because Snape is his guide." "Ugh, another Muggle hater I expect." "That's too bad, Remus is only quarter blood," Sirius observed. "Lil is Muggle-born though," James reminded him. "Yeah, but who in their right mind would do anything to someone that pretty," Sirius answered. "She's MINE" Remus reminded him playfully. "Err, yeah, of course" Anyway, I have to go back," Lily called over her shoulder as she started for the door. "Me, too," the rest replied as they headed back.
"Remus?" Lily had stayed behind to pay for her drink. "Yes?" He had insisted that he would pay, but it was a battle of wills, and Lily had won. "Uh, well, since James and Severus so kindly interrupted, do you want to do something later? Well, there are rumors about a Halloween ball..." "Sure!" Remus said, "Uh, wait...is that a full moon this year?" "No, isn't it the week after next?" Lily asked. "Oh, yeah, sometimes I lose track," Remus said. "Well, if there really is a ball, then I'll go because Head Girl and Head Boy have to lead," Lily said. "Well, let's go back," Remus reminded her, "They might suspect that we're doing something..." "Yeah," Lily said. They walked back to Hogwarts, not wanting to miss dinner. "Well, it took you long enough," James and Sirius snickered, "what were you doing? Having a nice long snog?" "We were paying for our drinks!" Lily exclaimed, "You were right Remus they did suspect something." "Well, let's eat," Peter squeaked. "Yeah, good show Wormtail," James, Sirius, and Remus agreed.